


Closing Costs

by missm0neypenny



Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF
Genre: Angst, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-29
Updated: 2013-06-29
Packaged: 2017-12-16 13:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/862789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missm0neypenny/pseuds/missm0neypenny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When had we become this couple?  These people who are so good at saying the absolute worst things?"</p>
<p>Written in response to the LJ rennerobsession Pic-Fic Challenge from 4/26/13. This is a work of fiction inspired by a photograph.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closing Costs

Stony silence filled the car. He drove us too fast up into the Malibu hills. My exhaustion from the all-night party combined unhappily with the winding roads. I was concentrating hard on not throwing up. 

I hadn't even wanted to go to the premiere. It's not like it was one of his movies; obviously I would have gone to that willingly. This was just some indie starring one of his old friends. I loudly voiced my opposition, but he insisted. I resented every moment of it. He knows how much I dislike these events with their paparazzi and screaming fans. There's just no place for a bookish person like me in a glamourous world like his. When I wanted to leave the after-after-party, he hissed a scotch-scented suggestion that I call a cab if I was going to be such a downer. An hour later, he found me alone on the patio and offered his warm jacket and heartfelt apologies. When had we become this couple? These people who are so good at saying the absolute worst things? We had been together for nearly two years but with his filming schedules and press tours, it felt shorter. Other times it felt longer. Much longer. 

The pre-dawn sky was tinted pink by the time we had finally left. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed but he had insisted on taking me to see his new property. Make no mistake, it was definitely _his_ property. Just like our house was really _his_ house. He had always been generous with me but, even after all this time, living in his home still felt like being a houseguest. Now he had bought what he kept calling his “forever home” and I hadn't factored into the conversation once. 

God, I really wanted to throw up. 

“We're here, ” he announced, turning into a dusty driveway. The time he spent fiddling with the padlocked construction fence gave me a chance to study the landscaping. Fledgeling privacy hedges lined the drive. Sonofabitch. He hadn't _just_ bought this property. Work had already begun. 

A construction site always energized him and, as I hauled myself out of the car, he bounded up the steps, eager to give me a grand tour. The place was a shambles; walls were half demolished and dust covered everything. I picked my way through the mess, hugging his jacket closer around me and taking care to avoid brushing my dress against anything. His open cuffs flapped as he gestured widely to conjure the imaginary finished project. I could see it would eventually be stunning. At the moment, however, I didn't want to do him the favor of showing any enthusiasm. 

“I saved the best for last,” he said pushing open one more door, revealing the framework of a bright solarium, filled with morning light. He looked at me intently, trying to gauge my reaction. “This will be your study. A place to write and dream and...whatever” he finished lamely.

I looked around the blindingly bright room and thought that he had decided this for me without asking. He hadn't considered that I prefer to write at night, in the solitude of darkness. Outside this glass cage he had assigned to me, the lawn was brown and neglected. At the property line, bougainvillea bloomed hot and pink. Beyond, the hills rolled down to the endless blue of the Pacific. I looked back to see the excitement just starting to fade from his face and I wondered what he honestly expected me to say.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and helpful feedback are appreciated!


End file.
